Not this time
by DeepInsideMyMind
Summary: This is my first ever fanfic so i do not expect it to be any good all feedback is welcome enjoy
1. Chapter 1 My time to shine

"Come think of it Midorima never needed to reach his 100%...but now playing against kagami again...his biggest rival and one of the few people he hates...we may see just that.."

"Huh?...mmm i guess you have a point..."

"Second period is over! now the teams will have a 10 minute break"

Midorima slams his locker shut as he leaves to go to the bench. "uh? Shin-chan are you ok? You seem to be a little angry..." "My anger only contributes to my determination of winning this game takao...losing twice to kagami made me realize his patterns and his movements on the field...now I believe i have a chance of winning against him...Do not worry takao...this time we are not going to lose to him." "Hmmm...are you sure about that Shin-chan? Aren't you forgetting something?We still haven't figured out how to counter his zone performance yet...while in it..kagami's skill improves dramatically...don't you think that could be a problem for us to reach victory...and the fact that he defeated Aomine for a second time...with so much ease...goes to show how much stronger kagami is right now" "About that...i have a plan on how to reduce kagami's energy and make him weak...even while he is inside the zone...its really simple if you think about it. We make him tired." "HUH? that's it? isn't this going to be very obvious? Wont they be able to counter it?" ""All we need is coordination and team play takao.. when the ball is in our hands we make sure to pass it around without doing much movement to maintain our energy and make kagami run around like a dog fetching a stick...it wont be long until he gets tired..and that is when we strike." "But we are already falling behind with a 6 point difference...we are allowed 24 seconds with the ball if we waste 17 or 20 of them there will not be much time to score" "That is why you give ME the ball the last few seconds to shoot and just in case kagami does get a chance to block,i will pass the ball to you or someone else to shoot." "still...it is still a big risk we take..." "Do not worry takao even if this does not work...i have a trick up my sleeve"

And so the team got up as they heard the buzzer ring indicating the start of the third period.

"Both teams, positions!"

Jump ball favored seirin team and as kagami takes the ball he passes right to kuroko who performs an ignite pass heading straight back to kagami who was in a position for an alley-hoop. But as he is about to score he gets blocked by Midorima. A big gasp was let out of kagami's mouth with a loud "HOW?" escaping with the ball being on Midorima's hands and kagami being far away from his hoop he decides to take a full court shot instead of following the plan. Every fan is filled with excitement as everyone stares at the flying ball as it makes its way towards seirin's hoop, but the ball didn't make it inside the hoop but instead it hit the it bounces of takao was lucky enough to get the rebound but he did not think straight and he went for a lay up only to be blocked by the center of seirin and uncrowned king, kiyoshi teppei. "BASTARD" he yelled but fortunately he was able to retrieve the ball since teppei used a little more force than needed and knocked the ball instead of taking it for his own and this time he decided to follow Midorima's orders and so he passed the ball back to his teammates 4 minutes have passed and the plan seemed to be working. Kagami's energy levels are slowly dropping to the point he can no longer move around the court as fast as he could. 5 minutes left until the third period is over when suddenly the referee's words echoed around the court.

"Seirin time out!"

As seirin is resting on their bench a loud smack came from the corner, it was rico smacking kagami's head and yelling at him. "WHAT DO YOU THIJNK YOU ARE DOING RUNNING UP AND DOWN TRYING TO GO AGAINST EVERYONE ON THE COURT?...you are not alone in this kagami!" "I..i am sorry coach...but my body is pumped and my temper is high...what are they doing...why cant i stop them?!" "Isn't it obvious what they are doing? they are trying to tire you kagami to make you useless and it seems to be working...i mean...take a look at yourself you are drenched in sweat and heavy breathing... the score was 134 to 140 but now it is 139 to 140...by making you tired Midorima has made every single shot...i am sorry kagami but i am afraid you will have to stay to the bench for the rest of this period" "WHAT! NO! i will not mich a chance to defeat Midorima once again and prove myself over him especially now...this is not the preliminaries rico we are officially playing a knock off game on the winter cup!" "If i may interrupt...she has a point kagami, as long as you are in they will not stop doing the same thing and at the end you will not be able to play and they will dominate us on the fourth period..." "Kuroko...fine but I am going back in on the fourth period and i do not want any objection about this..."

"Time out is over both teams come back in the court"

"Mitobe you are in"

"Hey mitobe...do not let midorima make another shot you hear me.." Mitobe nods and with a high five mitobe slowly marches into the court and goes to mark rest of the period favored slightly Shutoku with the score now being 154 to 150.

"We may have a slight advantage but most of our team is exhausted shin-chan.." "This was just the warm up takao...you have seen nothing... there is more to come takao..." "WARM UP? YOU BEARLY MOVED YOUR ASS THE LAST 5 MINUTES" "I need to conserve my energy takao...since kagami is benched i will definitely need as much energy to keep up with him...in these last 10 minutes...we will give all we have...even if it kills us.."

A loud scream broke the silence that had took place inside the court coming from seirin's benches , that scream came from teppei after rico attempted to tape his left knee. "it is way worse than i thought it would be...your knee is all swollen and bruised...you can not continue playing like this teppei..." "No it is fine I...i am ready to play...it really is nothing" "Take a good look at yourself...you can bearly lift yourself up kiyoshi...you are staying on the bench.." "But really its.." "NOT ANOTHER WORD" "..." "satoshi you will play center this period" "BUT...yes coach" "Ok mitobe you can take a rest now...kagami you are up" Kagami does not react to what rico said to him , in fact he did not say a thing or made a movement during the whole break , something seems to be wrong with the buzzer rang kagami stood up and slowly headed for the court. "Umm...kagami?" "Let him be rico...at this stage he won't reply to anything you tell him." "But why is he like this hyuga?" "You will find out soon enough rico...soon enough"

"Fourth period is about to start both teams prepare yourselves"

The crowd is going crazy over this game as the excitement levels have reached max. Takao and hyuga position themselves for the jump ball , the referee blows his whistle and he throws the ball In the air. Hyuga manages to take the ball and he passes to kuroko and with his turn he performs an ignite pass heading straight forward to hyuga who has positioned himself for a three pointerand he is slightly covered by Shutoku but as the ball advances towards him a hand stops it , it was kagami , he stood still for a while before lifting up his face. Red sparks coming out of his eyes accompanied by a grin filled with did what only the chosen could perform...he opened the gate on his own , he could now choose when he wanted to go in the zone and when to come out of it. 3 minutes passed and the score completely changed now being 162 to 174 favoring seirin without any hesitation shutoku's coached asked for a timeout.

"What are we going to do about him now? he is as strong as ever even though he was tired his energy levels raised rapidly!" "Do not worry takao...we will not lose that easily" "This is what you have been saying for the last 2 periods shintaro and look where we are now...we are losing with a 12 point difference!" As takao ended his speech tears started rolling down his cheeks. Surprised Midorima stared at his teammates , others were crying others looked like as though they had given up on winning. "I...i will not disappoint you..." he said with a silent buzzer rang declaring the end of the time out.

Hyuga is on the jump ball again but he has to go up against otsubo this time , the center of Shutoku. Surprisingly enough hyuga manages to win the ball and he passes the ball to kagami who rushes to shutoku's hoop with unbelievable speed and as he leaps to dunk he gets blocked by his rival , he gasps and with a surprised look on his face he stares at Midorima. Expressionless Midorima steals the ball and performs a perfect three-pointer from the other side of the court. Everyone was looking at him as he walks towards his hoop taking up a defense position. Midorima slowly lifted his face revealing something no one has seen before and no one thought would ever happen , Midorima's eyes sparked , green tiny sparks of lightning spewed from his eyes and with a face filled with anger and determination he stared at kagami. Midorima has successfully opened the door too and is now in the zone. "I had enough of you...i will show you what the true power of shutoku really is." Kagami advanced towards Midorima's position and now standing in front of him with the ball in his hands , the duel began. For a good 6 minutes the two titans clashed a furious battle took place and the game's pace raised rapidly. 50 seconds remaining on the clock the score was 194 to 196 favoring seirin. Takao passes the ball to Midorima after the two pointer kagami made but before Midorima could get his hands on the ball kuroko with a swift move steals the ball who immediately passes it to kagami. Shutoku's defense was strong but they needed to get the ball immediately as 20 seconds remained. Kagami proceeds to pass every shutoku member and he leaped into the air and at the same time Midorima also leaped for the block but kagami made a move no one expected , he passed the ball to hyuga who then proceeded to shoot a three pointer. But the ball did not find its mark and it bounced off the rim giving the opportunity for someone to rebound at that point kagami grabed the ball and lifted himself in the air with whatever strength he had left in his feet only to find Midorima in front of him. Midorima's strength overwhelmed kagami who lost the ball from his hands and Midorima with whatever strength was left in his body made a one handed full-court shot. As the ball passed half of the court the buzzer rang making this last shot either a game changer or another failed attempt from Midorima to defeat kagami. Silence filled the court as everyone stared at the ball flying towards the hoop. The ball found its way through the hoop without even touching the rim. Midorima collapsed to the ground due to bad form while on air , the referee yelled.

"Time up!"

The final score appeared on the board , it was 197 to 196 , Shutoku finally won against Seirin advancing to the semifinals where they would find themselves playing against yosen high and not only that they also managed to eliminate the former winter cup champions SEIRIN. Midorima's team rushed to his aid picking him up and helping him stand.

"Both teams please come to the center of the court."

Shutoku advanced to their position only to find four out of five Seirin members waiting for them.

"Where is kagami?" hyuga asked

" He is right there" said izuki pointing towards the corner of seirin's hoop. kagami was there kneeling on the ground. "KAGAMI" hyuga yelled but he received no reply.

"BOW" said the referee

"Thank you for the game!"

Both teams started to take the path towards their locker rooms.

"What about kagami..." said rico "I will talk to him...keep going we will catch up with you."

"Ok kuroko...HEY kagami!...You did a great job out there...do not let this get you down...we will win next time.." said hyuga before he started walking advanced toward kagami siting down on the ground he said "We will get them next time...lets go now... " "GET OFF OF ME!" kagami yelled pushing kuroko away , he gets up and he sits down on the bench. They both in silence sit there , no words coming out of anyone's mouth but after a while , kuroko heard a light gasp. He turned only to see kagami grinding his teeth and his eyes filled with tears , most of them making their way down his cheeks , kagami not being able to hold back he yelped and broke down in tears on kuroko's feet.


	2. Chapter 2 Aftermath

"AHH...great job out there Shin-chan...you did great" Said Takao with a huge smile on his face.

"But.." Midorima stops walking and sits down grabbing his ankle

"But at what cost Takao. I can bearly move my leg after all this and in two days we are playing against Murasakibara , if i had a chance with my special ability well now its gone..."

"I don't care at all Shin-chan , i dont care whether we win or lose the next game , i am just happy that we got to win against kagami and prove that we are stronger than the team that defeated the emperor , Akashi Seijuro. Come on now Shin-chan rest your leg on the bench." Said Takao before placing Midorima on the bench in the changing room

"Here you go Shintaro"

"Huh? Oh..Thanks for the tape Takao , but i think you need some yourself dont you?"

"Why would i Shin-chan?"

At this point Midorima turns his head and looks at Takao with an angry look

"TO TAPE YOUR MOUTH!..What do you mean you don't care if we win the next match or not? Was our win against Seirin enough for you? Are you ready to give up? "

"I didnt..." Thats all Takao could get out of his mouth before Midorima started talking again

"We are going up against one of the toughest teams on the winter cup tommorow , Yosen-High and we all know how well other teams did against those guys. Do not dare to loosen up not one bit , our match against Yosen will be tougher than the one against Seirin so be , ready."

"Yes Shin-chan...i apologise for what i said..."

Meanwhile outside the stadium

"Seems you were right kise , Midorima did reach his 100% and managed to surpass Kagami's zone too , i am impressed actually."

"Are you scared too Atsushi.? Said Kise with a smirk on his face

"SCARED? Me? Matters not how strong he is kise he will not manage to put up with me now I will crush him , you have not seen the last of me yet Ryota."

"Have i really not Atsushi? We all saw how powerfull you were while in the zone but still you could not defeat kagami , how can you be so sure that you will not lose again against him now?" "What do you think i have been doing all this time kise , sitting around eating? I have been practicing as hard as everyone else kise" Said Murasakibara

"But , dont you hate practice Atsushi?"

"People change kise , and in two days you are going to find out just how much i have changed since last time i participated on the winter cup. Now , dont you think you have a bigger problem than i do kise?"

"Huh? What do you mean Atsushi?" Said Kise with a worried look on his face

"You are up against Akashi next game right? Think you can win against him? Seirin bearly pulled it off and on the last second."

"Oh...well that will not be a problem Murasakibara , did you forget already? I can also use emperor eye and every speciall ability the generation of miracle has. Akashi will not be a problem at all."

"Right , well its time for me to get going kise , good luck with Akashi." And with a mouth filled with snacks Murasakibara waved goodbye kise and left.

"Right! Goodbye Murasa-cchi"

Looking at him kise things to himself ("Is this really the Murasakibara i know? He...he really looks like a whole different person , he , he is determined to win , and looking at how he takes defeat...he is going to give everything he has got.") And with that , Kise looked down and smile."I believe in you Murasa-cchi."

"It doesnt matter how strong you are , i will crush you Shintaro"

The day after that at Yosen high basketball court

"TEAM ASSEMBLE!" Yelled the coach of Yosen-high Masako Araki.

"Oh no she is angry...why is she angry since we won!"

"Shut up himuro" Said Kenichi "She already is holding her bad if she hears you we are sure to receive a warm welcome from that bad"

"Sorry Kenichi"

"Dont worry Himuro i am not in the mood today because today it is a special day"

"Uhh coach...what is so special about this day?" Said Atsushi

"Well , not only will you be training 3 times as much , today is also my birthday" Said the coach with a big smile on her like ("Why is this importand") and ("We have more important things than this") crossed the minds of all Yosen members.

"Um coach?...Do you want us to buy you presents?" Said Himuro

"Well the only present i want from you guys is to win the match against Shutoku!" Said the coach.

"Now lets see what we have to do for today...hmmmm... we will start with something easy."

"We are so dead" Said Himuro

"Come on now Tatsuya its not going to be that bad" Kensuke replied patting Himuro's back

"LISTEN! Everyone lie down in front of the hoop , Kenichi come here. When you guys lie down all of you will plank and kenichi will jump over all of you and dunk the ball at the end , when he is done doing it the next one will repeat , 5 time each...GO!"

"I was wrong...we are so dead Himuro" Said Fukui.

"Atsushi you come with me i have other things i need you to do now."

"Uhh ok coach..." And so Masako and Atsushi left leaving behind the hardworking athletes.

"Why isn't Murasakibara taking part in this? Is he getting special training!?Or even worse he abandoned us and went to get lunch!"

"Shut up kenichi Atsushi would not ever abandon his team...not now besides the coach asked him to go with her so how could he abandon us." Said Himuro.

Meanwhile at Shutoku-high

"Wow Shin-chan last game really did have a big impact on you didnt it? Two out of five three pointers in?! Thats really not you." Said Takao

"How much of an idiot can you be Takao...the reason i am missing my shots is because today with me here i do not have my lucky item yet...and you guys running around the court , only makes it worse for me to focus on shooting."

As Midorima attempts to take another shot Otsubo standing behind him forces the ball away from his hands.

"Enough practice for me , up for a one on one Midorima?"

"This should not be hard"Said Shintaro

"OHH Otsubo versus Midorima in a one on one match! This should be intresting." Yelled Takao filled with excitment.

five minutes later and with the score being 18-19 favoring Otsubo the door slams open and the coach enters the court.

"What is going on in here Midorima!"

"Huh...a three point that brings us to 21-19...looks like i won Otsubo."

"BUT! I was not even looking! I was not paying attention!"

"Then you now know what you need to practice on."

"SILENCE!" yelled the coach

"What do you think you are doing Shintaro , i thought i told you to rest your legs and i only allowed you to take shots! Look at what you are doing now , playing one on one with Otsubo. I suspect you did a whole lot of jumping considering that your leg is shaking and you can bearly stand up..."

"I...i apologise coach , from now on and untill the game i promise you i will rest..."

"You better keep that promise Shintaro i mean...look at you , you will not be able to play next match if you keep up like this. Our game against Seirin almost wrecked you and now being against a powerfull team like Yosen..."

"I am sorry coach but as i promised you i will rest!"

"Coach , we have been thinking." Said Otsubo as he aproached the coach

"We have a plan for the next game coach."

"A plan? What kind of plan."

"I will explain right now coach...So we have been thinking since Midorima will not be able to run around for a whole lot on the game we could focus our gameplay around him. What i mean is since me and Midorima have a chance of performing dunks and lay ups the rest of the team could focus on passing the ball around me and Midorima , When they figure out what we are doing they are possibly going to put more people to Midorima so he can not perform his shots and thus leaving more space for the rest of us to score. Unfortunetly" Otsubo sighted "We are not going to have a very strong defence either since Midorima is our top defender but his ability of jumping is limited and we should really take advantage of this ability with caution. I mean we still have me but i do not think i will be able to block The member from the generation of miracle that now plays for Yosen. Atsushi Murasakibara. One thing we could do is not make it look too obvious. What i mean is when you get the ball do not straight pass it to me or Midorima every single time...its better score a lot of points with the cost of them scoring some rather than make our plan obvious from the start and let them turn around the score with ease.

"Even so Otsubo" Midorima said

"There is a big chance that i will be marked by Atsushi most of the game after they find out what we are doing and if this happens i will not be able to score all that much. In case this happens we need to make Atsushi change his mark and thus the person being marked by Atsushi should then run away from me taking Atsushi with him so he will not be able to make it in time when i shoot but there is little chance that this will happen since i do not think anyone else from their team can block me."

"Well thought Shintaro." Said Otsubo

"Well what do you think..."

"I agree with most of the stuff you guys said...we could definetly give it a shot out there , but never having played against Yosen , this plan might not work."

"We can only hope coach..." Takao said and so they kept on with practicing and Midorima left the court to go and get some rest.

"Well...it is time Atsushi...today we face the so called king of veterans Midorima Shintaro."

"Nothing special really...no matter what i will make sure to not let him score points with his special shot...even if i am close to him to block it..."

"How can you be so sure about that Atsushi...and...what do you mean even if you are not there to block him? What are you going to do about his shot...you can not jump that high to reach it unless you are close to it..." Said Himuro.

"Trust me on this Tatsuya...now lets go...our teams name is about to be called out."

"As you say Atsushi..."

"Come on Takao today we slay the beasts of Yosen."

"Ahhhh Shin-chan cheesy...too cheesy..."

"Shut up and walk Takao..."

"Umm are you going to take this bracelet with you in game? It is...rather weird."

"ITS MY LUCKY ITEM TAKAO!"

"TCH...fine Shintaro lets go."

And so both teams walked inside the stadium to face each other for the first time , the king of veterans Shintaro Midorima and Atsushi Murasakibara


End file.
